In an era where public service too often feels transactional and overshadowed by political noise, the retirement of Bellaire Mayor Ed Marling serves as a reminder of what steady, local leadership can mean to communities.

For 24 years, Marling has been a presence in eastern Ohio civic life — not for headlines or ambition, but because he believed the people of Shadyside and Bellaire deserved a leader that showed up, put in the work, and never asked others to do what he wasn’t willing to do himself.

Marling’s long tenure in public service began nearly four decades ago, when he joined Shadyside Village Council in 1986. He went on to spend 10 years as the village’s mayor and another decade on council before answering a call more than a dozen years later for leadership in Bellaire, where he has served the past four years. That breadth of experience alone is notable.

But what truly sets Marling apart is not longevity — it is reliability.

In Bellaire, residents knew exactly what time their mayor would arrive at the office: sometime each day around 5:15 a.m., coffee in hand, ready to sort through messages and get to work. That routine speaks volumes about a leader’s priorities. Marling understood that local government is not a part-time occupation. It is a commitment to being available, visible and accountable, even when no one is watching.

“This job is what you want to make of it,” he said. And he made it into a full day’s effort before many people had finished their first cup of coffee.

Marling did not simply hold office; he embraced responsibility. He was known to pick up the phone at any hour, talk through problems with residents and guide new officeholders with the same patience he showed constituents. His nephew, Shadyside Councilman Sam Carpino, summed it up perfectly: “He actually cares about the village.” That is not a small legacy in a region where communities depend on public servants willing to put neighborliness ahead of politics.

What may be most telling, however, is Marling’s refusal to “ride off into the sunset,” as he put it. Retirement from elected office, for him, does not mean retreat. At age 82, he has already joined the Bellaire Citizens Action Group and plans to help maintain village parks, right down to mowing grass and relining basketball courts. He understands what many longtime civic leaders do: that a community’s health depends much more on small, hands-on contributions than it does on the decisions made at council tables.

Eastern Ohio has benefited for nearly a half-century from Marling’s steady presence. Shadyside and Bellaire both have seen difficult years, population shifts and financial strain. Through it all, Marling offered consistency, calm and an unwavering willingness to put in the early hours and the late ones.

No community could ask more of a mayor.

As Bellaire prepares to welcome incoming Mayor Robert “Moose” Dodrill to its helm, Marling leaves behind more than a resume. He leaves an example of how public servants should tend to the towns they serve, how they should always put others first.

His retirement is well-earned.